Method and apparatus for washing machine parts



M. J. ZINTY Feb. 18, 1958 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING MACHINE PARTS Filed March 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR MflEC'EL. r/I Z/NTY M. J. ZINTY Feb. 18, 1958 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING MACHINE PARTS Filed March 16. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MflRCEL r]. Z/NTV ATTORNEYS METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING MACHINE PARTS Marcel J. Zinty, New York, N. Y., assignor to Magnus Chemical Company, Inc., Garwood, N. J;, a corporation of New York Application March 16, 1956, Serial No. 571,935

7 Claims. (Cl. 134-23) This invention relates to the washing by means of liquid solutions of mechanical or other industrial parts of various kinds to rid them of metal chips, fine metal dust or grit and any other solid foreign matter.

The problem of washing such parts is particularly acute when they are of intricate design or incorporate deep cavities or recesses in which solid dirt or foreign matter may be trapped and from which it cannot readily be removed by a simple flushing operation. One illustration is the problem presented by the turbine wheels and casings of certain types of airplane engines. Heretofore, due to the complexity of the structure and the shape and great number of cavities incorporated in such articles, hand Washing has been resorted to, with the unavoidable expenditure of many man hours of time and consequent expense plus, of course, the not entirely satisfactory dependence upon the human factor for the type of job accomplished.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for washing articles of the above character thoroughly, reliably and quickly and, hence, economically. In the latter connection it may be mentioned that the method and machine of this invention have proven their ability to wash a turbine component in about thirty minutes as against previous hand washing of the same component consuming thirty-five man hours.

In general, the invention involves imparting a threeway motion to the article within or into and out of a suitable washing solution, all as hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partially sectioned, of one form of apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partially sectioned on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, partially sectioned view of certain of the drive elements; and

Fig. 5 is a similarly enlarged view of part of the drive.

In the form of the invention shown for purposes of illustration the article to be washed is suspended from an overhead rail including fixed sections 1, 2 and a movable section 3. The latter is secured to the lower end of rod 4 which is adapted to be reciprocated axially, that is, vertically. Any suitable means can be employed for the purpose but such means can be assumed to be of the well-known type including a cylinder 5 in which is mounted a piston (not shown) operated by compressed air, rod 4 being attached to the piston.

The movable rail section serves as a support for a frame or chassis, generally designated 10, the chassis posts 11 having at their upper ends wheeled trucks 12 which enable the chassis to be moved along the rail when the movable section is in its upper position in alignment with the fixed rail sections. This is illustrated by the broken line fragment at the upper right in Fig. 1.

2,824,029 Patented Feb. 18, 1958 Directly beneath the movable section of the rail is a tank 15 of washing liquid, which is preferably circulated constantly through a filter 16 by means of a pump 17; and, according to the present invention, the article to be washed, mounted on the chassis, is reciprocated vertically in the washing liquid and simultaneously rotated about two axes disposed at an angle to one another.

To accomplish the foregoing a carrier 20 is provided. As illustrated, it consists of a more or less U-shaped frame having side arms 21 and a cross bar 22. Shafts 23, 24 mounted in the chassis support the carrier for rotation about a horizontal axis. The inner end of shaft 23 is keyed to the adjacent side arm of the carrier and is driven by sprocket 25 secured to the outer end of the shaft. A chain 26 connects sprocket 25 to an upper sprocket 27 driven through a speed reducer 28 by motor 29. The latter are mounted on the upper part of the chassis well above the level of the washing liquid.

Mounted on the carrier is a rotatable platform 35 to which the article to be washed (indicated at 36 in broken outline) is suitably clamped. In this instance the article is assumed to be substantially cylindrical and, as in the case of the turbine wheel, having cavities opening transversely of the axis of the article. Platform 35 is mounted on a shaft 37 which is journaled in cross bar 22 and the axis of the article is preferably so disposed (for balance) that it is substantially coincident with that of shaft 37.

It will be understood that the article 36 may be a basket or other container suitable for holding a plu rality of small parts for simultaneous washing.

For the purpose of driving the rotatable platform, a stationary bevel gear 40 is provided, mounted coaxially with shaft 23 but secured to the chassis (see Fig. 4). A second bevel gear 41, meshing with gear 40, is secured to one end of a jack shaft 42 journaled in the adjacent carrier side arm, the other end of shaft 42 carrying a sprocket 43 which is coupled by chain 44 with a sprocket 45 on the end of platform shaft 37.

Thus, motor 29 rotates the carrier about the horizontal axis of shafts 23 and 24 and bevel gear 41 (rotated by its engagement with stationary bevel gear 40) serves to rotate the article platform about the axis of shaft 37. Simultaneously, it will be understood, the entire chassis is reciprocated vertically by rod 4, preferably through a stroke suflicient to raise the article above the liquid level so that the liquid cascades out of the interior of the article during the upper portion of each stroke. And, due to the compound rotary motion simultaneously imparted to the article, it will be seen that this cascading or flushing flow of liquid is constantly varying in relation to the article. In consequence, all of the pockets or interstices are thoroughly flushed.

By appropriately correlating the speeds of the several motions, the article can be caused to reciprocate many times without duplicating its position in space. The maximum number of reciprocations possible without repetition of a given article position will be achieved when the speeds of rotation and reciprocation bear a relationship to one another of mutually prime numbers. Thus, if the platform is geared to rotate at, say, 7 revolutions per minute and the carrier at 13, and the chassis is reciprocated at 17 strokes per minute, the chassis will complete 1729 reciprocations (7 l3 l9) before the article presents itself a second time in exactly the same position in space. Or, to put it differently, the chassis will arrive at the top of its stroke 1729 successive times with the article in a different draining position each time.

In any event, due to the triple motion imparted to the article, the induced swirling and flushing action of the washing liquid has been found to be extraordinarily effective in removing the foreign matter adhering to the surfaces of the article or nesting in its interstices, even though they are of complex shape and include a multiplicity of cavities or recesses.

Another refinement is illustrated which has been found to be desirable in some instances and that is to effect, simultaneously with the triple motion already described, a vibration of the article. This can readily be accomplished by secur'ingone or more vibrators Stl, 51 to the upper part of the chassis. Suitable electromagnetic or pneumatic vibrators are available and since their con struction is well known, they need not be described in detail.

In the light of the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the principles of the invention, the following is claimed:

1. The method of Washing a substantially cylindrical article having transversely opening cavities which comprises immersing the article in a Washing liquid and simultaneously rotating the article about its own axis, rotating the article about a second axis disposed at an angle to the axis of the article and bodily reciprocating the article.

2. The method of washing a substantially cylindrical article 'having transversely opening cavities which comprises immersing the article in a Washing liquid and simultaneously rotating the article about its own axis, rotating the article about a second axis disposed at right angles to the article axis and bodily reciprocating the article into and out of the washing liquid.

3. The method of washing an article which comprises reciprocating it in. a washing liquid and simultaneously causing the article to rotate about two axes disposed at an angle to one another, the speeds of rotation and re ciprocation bearing a relationship to one another of mutually prime numbers.

'4. The method of Washing a substantially cylindrical article having transversely opening cavities which comprises immersing the article in a washing liquid and simultaneously rotating the article about its own axis, rotating the article about a second axis disposed at an angle to the axis of the article and bodily reciprocating the article, the speeds of rotation and reciprocation bearing a relationship to one another of mutually prime numbers.

5. The method of washing anarticle which comprises securing the article to a support, reciprocating the support andarticle vertically-inawashing liquid-and simultaneously causing the article to'rotate'about two axes disposed at an angleto one another while applying a vibratory force to the support.

6. The method of washing a substantially cylindrical article having transversely opening cavities which cornprises securing 'the'article'to a support, reciprocating the support and article vertically in a washing liquid and simultaneously rotating the article about its own axis, rotating the article about a second axis disposed at an angle to theaxis of the article-and-applying a vibratory force to the support.

7. .A washingmachine'comprisingthecombination with a tank for washing liquid, a support disposed above the tank and means for reciprocating the support toward and from the bottom of the tank, of a chassis depending from the support within the tank, a v rotatable carrier mounted on .thechassis, means for rotating the carrier relatively to the chassis, a rotatable article platform mounted on the carrier, means forrotating the platform relatively to the carrier and vibratormeans secured'to the chassis.

"References Cited in the ffiIe of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,414 M01116 Aug. 5, 1919 1,462,917 Miller 4..---- July24, 1932 1,907,395 Wilkes May 2, 1933 2,559,708 Calhoun "July 10, 1951 

1. THE METHOD OF WASHING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDIRICAL ARTICLE HAVING TRANSVERSELY OPENING CAVITIES WHICH COMPRISES IMMERSING THE ARTICLES IN A WASHING LIQUID AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ROTATING THE ARTICLE ABOUT ITS OWN AXIS, ROTATING THE ARTICLE ABOUT A SECOND AXIS DISPOSED AT AN ANGLE TO THE AXIS OF THE ARTICLE AND BODILY RECIPROCATING THE ARTICLE.
 7. A WASHING MACHINE COMPRISING THE COMBINATION WITH A TANK FOR WASHING LIQUID, A SUPPORT DISPOSED ABOVE THE TANK AND MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE SUPPORT TOWARD AND FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK, OF A CHASSIS DEPENDING FROM THE SUPPORT WITHIN THE TANK, A ROTATABLE CARRIER MOUNTED ON THE CHASSIS, A ROTATABLE ARTICLE PLATFORM RELATIVELY TO THE CHASSIS, A ROTATABLE ARTICLE PLATFORM MOUNTD ON THE CARRIER, MEANS FOR ROATING THE PLATFORM RELATIVELY TO THE CARRIER AND VIBRATOR MEANS SECURED TO THE CHASSIS. 